Rise of Rurik

Ludwig's East Frankish army forcibly rebuilt a city on the ruins of Bremen, even though it only had a huge number of simple wooden sheds.

More than 20,000 people were temporarily stationed here. They cut down wood to make fire, and they all gathered together to keep warm.

The cold weather is fair, and those who are lightly clad must pay a price. It can range from frostbite on the hands to cracked toes in severe cases, or death in severe cases.

Those Sorbian slave soldiers were always used as tools by Ludwig. After all, they were not Franks, Alemanni, or Thuringians, and they had nothing to do with the rebellious Saxons.

This is just a group of conquered Slavic tribes. Some priests are rare for this group of lambs. As the king, Ludwig only thinks that the greatest significance of these people is to serve as cattle and horses for his army.

Even when the ice-like snow makes the world gray, the Sorbians still have to go to the nearby woods with tools to cut wood. Their clothing was generally rudimentary, and everyone tried their best to wrap themselves in all kinds of things to keep warm. All kinds of rags were so rare that many of them were wrapped up like a bear. Their naive and clumsy appearance also attracted ridicule from the Frankish soldiers.

They work very hard, and they don't get to eat just because they are lazy at work.

Ludwig would not be so stingy as to give these people just a little food to satisfy their hunger. They were just a group of pack horses and would be of great use in the future. Naturally, they needed to be given more food now.

The carriage horses that had been killed by the Ross cavalry had been disposed of by the Franks, and a large amount of horse meat was used as military rations, and all of them went into the stomachs of the elite warriors. However, there were a lot of heavily armored warriors, and thousands of big mouths were ready to eat all the horse meat.

They still carry a lot of wheat, so the Franks can eat a lot, the peasant soldiers eat less, and the Sorbians who contribute the most eat the least.

The colder it gets, the more they need to eat, and the poor Sorbians have to brave the wind and snow to engage in physically strenuous work.

Some people have a strange feeling. They gradually take off their clothes to cut wood, just to dissipate heat as quickly as possible.

This is precisely a fatal illusion. When such people drag some logs back to the city, some of them gradually die of exhaustion. Or when resting and eating, some people's body temperature is always cold, and even the hand of Duanmuwan trembles and suddenly dies.

The Sorbians sacrificed as many as five hundred non-combat lives to rebuild Bremen in the snow.

In fact, they all died of cold and overwork in the cold, but in Archbishop Hardbold's mouth, it was explained that "they died because of insufficient faith in their faith."

Is it really?

The Frankish soldiers were not fools. They tentatively believed that this was the cause of death of the Sorbians, but their own wounded soldiers who were clearly out of danger still died on a large scale after the snowfall began.

The Rus among the Normans are by no means weak, and brothers must be vigilant when fighting against such enemies. But thinking that they could easily die if they were injured, the soldiers were all worried about their safety during the first forced expedition when it snowed in winter.

No one dared to question whether the king's decision was reckless. In fact, many people had the answer in their hearts. Their dissatisfaction was firmly suppressed in their hearts and they had no choice but to continue to obey orders.

Because they are the standing army who eat the emperor's salary. If they disobey Ludwig, it will be a betrayal of the soul.

If Rurik had the special status of being "favored by Odin", a large number of Vikings felt that this strong man was naturally worth following.

Ludwig had a similar identity. The so-called Archbishop of Cologne and the Archbishop of Mainz jointly endorsed him, pointing out that Charlemagne's grandson was a "defender of the faith" and was equally worthy of following.

However, after the army crossed the Weser River, no Frankish village could be found to the north.

The reconnaissance cavalry went to search near Bremen. They were delighted to see the village, but when they got closer they found that it was just deserted.

There is no sound of people around, no feeling of popularity, and a large area has become a no man's land.

A huge army stayed here, but Ludwig actually didn't want to do this. He felt that if he continued to march, he would be in trouble again. It would be a great shame for him to withdraw.

At least there was a chance for change if he continued to march forward. He decided to start preparations now and wait for the whole army to move north after the snow stopped.

It is far-fetched to expect the Sorbian people who were traumatized by the ice and snow to continue their careers, and the vast number of conscripted peasant soldiers also suffered from varying degrees of frostbite.

After an inventory, it was found that as many as 2,000 people in the army suffered from frostbite. If your hands are frozen and cracked, you can't hold spears and swords. If your ears are frostbitten, you can't hear clearly. The most serious thing is that your feet are injured, making it difficult to walk.

It was just a hard fight against the first snowfall of winter. The snowfall process took a long time. As a result, more than 2,000 people in the entire army lost their ability to fight.

Coupled with the battle with the Ross fleet before the snowfall, the expeditionary force's total casualties had reached 3,500 people.

A large army was suddenly reduced to only 20,000 people.

Of course, the total force of 20,000 people could still support Ludwig's strong belief. After all, the elites of his standing army did not suffer much losses.

He asked each warrior to make a small sled out of wooden branches and tie ropes to drag it on its own. Personal armor, personal items, and even crucial wheat can be placed on it.

"Don't count on our slaves, you are the strongest. Soldiers, this is a test for you. You will defeat the ice and snow to defeat the rebels and barbarians. You will receive endless glory. I will give you no one a reward in the battle. Bounty.”

Before setting off, Ludwig mobilized his army before the war. The soldiers were forced to squint in the clear sunshine, watching their king's crown shining in the sun, and listening to his eloquent speeches.

What "endless glory" is, or the real bounty is inspiring.

The soldiers banged their shields or roared, making various noises in response to the king's call. In fact, they were more excited that they could get more military pay.

All of them were granted freedom to plunder after victory, and even if they grabbed gold as big as a fist, it was considered theirs.

In a rather troublesome environment, only the promise of wealth can arouse the fighting spirit of these people, so Ludwig went out of his way to make big claims. For this reason, the Archbishop of Cologne really felt that it was too vulgar and inferior, but he could not say that Ludwig was not a good character. When it came to making money, Archbishop Hardbold of Cologne was more clever and explained the reasons more grandly.

The sun returned, causing the pale earth to become extremely dazzling.

There were only a few gossamer-like high-level clouds in the blue sky, and the earth was white and shining. The soldiers had to step on the snow that touched half of their calves and drag their sleds forward with difficulty. Thanks to the fact that the Roman Avenue was smooth enough, their progress had a direction.

Such an advance in the snow must be a disaster for the leading infantry. Ludwig was not stupid enough to let the infantry go in front, but ordered all the cavalry to clear the way ahead. Although Frank's tall horse has less endurance, its legs are longer, and it has less resistance when walking on the snow.

Two thousand horses opened the way ahead, leaving the infantry with a flattened road. The infantry walked on the relatively solid ice and snow road, and the resistance was not very serious.

They were passing through the so-called "Lüneburg Heather Forest", where there are many heather trees, now covered with snow.

They encountered many villages along the way, but they were empty. There were some traces in the flat snow. Careful identification revealed that they were from birds and foxes.

The army was camping in an empty village. Ludwig originally hoped that the Russians would move out the army wisely. As long as the two sides had a decisive battle that the nobles would like to see, he would not care about the secrecy of the action. During the arduous march, the soldiers needed a lot of hot cooking wheat, so he didn't care that everyone buried urns to cook wheat, and allowed a lot of blue-gray smoke to rise into the sky.

Cow dung is also a good fuel, but these villages have cow dung but cannot find cows.

The burning cow dung caused some excessively thick smoke, making the curling smoke more obvious.

Therefore, Ross's scout, who was originally unwilling to go further south, saw this situation from a distance.

They hurried back to the Elbe bridgehead, but the garrison at Hamburg had seen the smoke farther away.

When the smoke rose, many nobles gathered at the top of the Hamburg Fortress to watch.

Liudov was mentally highly sensitive. "They're already here! A decisive battle."

Rurik heard it clearly and answered: "I thought they weren't coming, but they finally showed up. How long do you think it will be before they show up?"

"At least one day." Liudov estimated. "There is too much daylight now. Maybe they will arrive in two days."

"No, the sky is clear now. The moon and stars at night can illuminate the snowy world very brightly. They may continue to march at night for a while. But... I don't plan to take the initiative to fight with them."

"Use your strategy immediately?" Liudov asked.

"Yes. Now we can arrange for the ambush at the mouth of the river to launch a sneak attack."

Quite a few Russian and Danish warriors wanted to cross the pontoon to fight the Frankish army that appeared. They stayed in the wooden house all day long and felt uncomfortable. Their swords and axes wanted to drink blood, and they wanted to sacrifice blood to Odin!

After all, it’s almost December, so Hanukkah isn’t really that far away.

The Saxons are eager to win a big victory before Christmas, and the Rusdanes want to sacrifice Odin's blood before Hanukkah.

As observers, such as the king and prince of Northumbria, they also wanted to see what a "big melee of more than 10,000 people" was called.

The captured Baudoin and Harald Clark, although still prisoners, can now serve as observers to watch the defeat of the army of Ludwig, the monarch they were previously loyal to.

The smoke was so thick that it looked like the heather forest was burning in the ice and snow.

The coalition forces stationed in Hamburg are gathering, and war is about to break out.

Now, Rurik firmly grasps the strategic advantage. Compared with the enemy, he can say that he can have a "God's perspective" bird's-eye view of the entire battlefield.

If the ice on the Elbe River is thick enough, the enemy can collapse the ice and attack after the main force appears. At that time, the coalition forces can freely take advantage of long-range weapons and have a "Battle of Agincourt" in 840. However, the Elbe River is only covered with thick ice on both sides. The river is so wide that only a Tuomu longbow can shoot light arrows to the other side. It is really wide, and the river still flows in the middle.

The two long rowing boats were ordered, the sails were furled, and the large Ross flag was hoisted on the single mast. The soldiers rowed hard just to reach the ambush camp as soon as possible.

Rurik commanded the coalition forces and waited for work in Hamburg. As the scouts sent out reported more detailed intelligence, the phantom of the enemy army finally emerged from the cover of the forest.

Because the scout wearing a white hood saw the Frank army's camp with his own eyes, even if he only noticed it from a distance.

A large area south of the Elbe River is a war no-man's land, and now this place has an unusual position in life. The scouts found a large number of armed men, mostly wearing taupe furs and cloths, with a lot of eye-catching blue tones among them.

The most important thing is that the scouts saw a large number of cross flags, and the flags were not simple black stone stripes on white cloth.

The flags are mostly blue crosses on a white background, and a blue coat of arms that resembles a three-pointed harpoon has become very convincing evidence.

The fleur-de-lis is one of the symbols of the Franks. Only high-ranking nobles of Frankish origin and the nobles' personal troops have the right to use this type of heraldry. It is a sin for others to use it.

More information confirmed that a Frankish nobleman had arrived for conquest. Although Rurik still could not decide whether King Ludwig of East Frankia himself had arrived. From the analysis of the size of the army detected, everyone could only believe that it could only be the king himself. Personal expedition.

The monarchs of the whole north are fighting against the monarchs of the south, and a good show is about to take place.

First of all, the Russian army must be the first to launch the attack.

Rowing on a glacier is really nothing. Arik was forcibly rowing in the semi-frozen Gulf of Finland. He has a strong physique and uses winter swimming to prove to the old guys that he is a real man.

The two long boats reporting the news moved down the river and paddled faster. The short daylight hours did not stop at all, and the oarsmen had to hold in their urine.

They did not move lightly, but brought some equipment and supplies. The so-called sixty soldiers were immediately placed under Arik's command after reporting the news.

The short day was coming to an end, and when the orange sunset illuminated the entire vast world, two Russian flags were flying in the orange world.

The longship was not docked, but its solid oak keel rode directly on the ice. The soldiers jumped off the boat one after another, and the leader quickly found the general Arik who was wearing sunglasses.

Needless to say, when Arik saw a group of young warriors suddenly arriving, he knew that his boring wait had finally come to an end.

That night, the bonfire was brightly lit at the salt boiling field at the mouth of the Elbe River and the Ross military camp.

Arik stood on the high ground where logs were temporarily piled, giving orders to as many as 1,100 soldiers gathered around him.

People heard a powerful voice roaring: "The war has begun! We will launch a surprise attack! This is our third attack on Bremen, only this time we will not evacuate! Listen! Kill anyone you encounter. The enemy will show no mercy and chop the enemy into pieces!"

So, he pulled out his swords and pointed them directly at the stars: "The gods are watching us! Blood sacrifice to Odin!"

People's emotions were aroused, and what followed was a rhythmic and deafening Viking war cry.

They roared and banged on the wooden shields, and the rhythm was very intimidating.

Arik waited in the camp for a long time, while the army ate wheat and grilled fish. Eating more salt is good for fighting the cold, but here is an Atlantic salt boiling base opened by the Russians. A group of Saxon servants work here in exchange for wages. It is equivalent to a thousand soldiers on standby eating high-salt and high-carbohydrate water every day. A high-protein meal lasts for half a month.

Many people have suppressed their fair belly, and Arik's originally angular face is now rounder.

If this continues, the brothers will turn into fat seals sooner or later, and they are in urgent need of executing combat orders to consume their excessive physical strength.

On a new day, when the eastern sky becomes bright, all the ships on standby pull anchor and set sail.

As long as they sail by force, even if the day is short, they will be able to fight back to Bremen in three days, and then there will be the indiscriminate killing that Arik loved to see.

Ludwig and his Frankish army, who continued to march in the ice and snow, did not know about this. The army just wanted to reach the other side of the Elbe River quickly.

The ground began to tremble, and more than a thousand cavalrymen shook the treetops so that snow fell from them.

The Frankish cavalry had specially put on iron armor. They held their lances high, and some knights also held cross flags. Such a large army marched quickly through the snow on the Roman road, and their majesty forced the last remaining Ross scouts to run away.

The scouts no longer had to hide, they blew their horns as they ran.

The low trumpet sound was extremely penetrating, and the army advancing in the forest felt trembling when they heard the sound that seemed to come from another distant world.

"Okay, you already know me! It's time for a decisive battle!" Ludwig was not nervous but rather pleased with himself. He imagined that he would face the frozen Elbe River. The continuous snowfall for many days made him very confident that the river would be frozen, so that the army would immediately launch a strong attack. After all, the righteous army had no need to negotiate with traitors or barbarians. Those despicable people The enemy is not worthy yet.

On the other side of the Elbe River, the coalition forces, waiting for work, were in great spirits.

They first saw some white shadows running like crazy, blowing trumpets as they kept running.

This is the Ross scouts. Are they really running away from some kind of monster?

A moment later, when these people stepped onto the snow-covered pontoon, hundreds of iron tools suddenly rushed out from the forest.

The armor of the cavalry was extremely dazzling under the hot winter sun, but these heavy cavalry were obviously shocked by the sight in front of them, and their pursuit came to an abrupt halt. They lingered around in place and were unwilling to risk entering the pontoon bridge.

Rurik took off his sunglasses and squinted his eyes, trying to see some details of the enemy.

Liu Doufu was a little nervous: "This is the elite heavy cavalry, and their main force has arrived. What are your... plans?"

"I see that it is necessary for our army to give them some gifts."

"A gift?" Liudof suddenly felt that Rurik was very humorous. "What gift? Isn't it like sending someone to row over to fight them?"

"It's a javelin."

Forget it, Rurik immediately gave the order, and the flag soldiers stood on the extra high platform set up on the wooden city wall and gave the order facing the big ship floating on the river.

There was only one order - to throw a round of javelin at the cavalry who appeared.

What Rurik wanted was to give the aggressive enemy a showdown. This would boost his own morale and anger the bellicose enemy commander.

Now, the soldiers stationed on the ship pulled the pins of the torsion slingshots one after another, and the javelins soared into the air...